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WCW Wrestle War 1989-1992
Wrestle War 89: Music City Showdown - Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium - May 7, 1989 (matinee) (5,200) Pay-per-view bouts - featured Jim Ross & Bob Caudle on commentary; the Oak Ridge Boys performed the National Anthem to open the show; included an opening announcement by Jim Ross that the NWA US Tag Team Title match would not feature the scheduled hair vs. hair stipulation because the championship committee ordered Eddie Gilbert and Kevin Sullivan would have to settle their feud on their own time and not when the US Tag Team Titles are at stake; featured Lance Russell interviewing Ric Flair backstage about his last opportunity against Ricky Steamboat later in the night; included Russell interviewing NWA US Champion Lex Luger backstage regarding his title defense against Michael Hayes later in the night; featured Russell interviewing Hayes backstage regarding his title shot against Luger; included a music video detailing the Flair / Steamboat rivalry in 1989 to the tune of "The Final Countdown" by Europe; featured a mini concert by the Oak Ridge Boys; included Russell interviewing the three judges for the night's main event - Lou Thesz, Pat O'Conner, and Terry Funk; featured Russell interviewing NWA TV Champion Sting backstage regarding his title defense against the Iron Sheik; included Joe Pedicino interviewing Nikita Koloff backstage regarding his involvement in the tag team title match later in the night: The Great Muta (w/ Gary Hart) pinned Doug Gilbert (sub. for the Junkyard Dog who didn't make the show) with a backbreaker and the moonsault at 3:04; late in the bout, Eddie Gilbert came out to be in his brother's corner and, afterwards, had a brief confrontation with Muta Butch Reed pinned Ranger Ross with a shoulderblock off the top at 6:59; prior to the bout, Ross was escorted to the ring by a color guard; during the match, Teddy Long came ringside with a visitors pass, seemingly to scout both men Dick Murdoch pinned Bob Orton Jr. (w/ Gary Hart) in a bullrope match at 5:01 with two elbow drops after hogtying Orton with the bullrope; after the bout, Orton attacked Murdoch as he tried to get at Hart, hit him with the cowbell, and hung him by the bullrope until two referees pulled him away Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace defeated the Samoan Swat Team (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) at 11:00 when Douglas pinned Fatu after Ace hit a missile dropkick, putting Douglas on top, moments after Douglas sustained Fatu's splash off the top; late in the bout, Dangerously grabbed a mic at ringside and said to Douglas, "You are as useless as a woman from Nashville, Tenn." Michael Hayes (w/ Hiro Matsuda) pinned NWA US Champion Lex Luger to win the title at 16:29 when, after both men collided with referee Nick Patrick, Terry Gordy came out, pushed Hayes on top of Luger, and then pushed Luger's foot off the bottom rope during the cover; Teddy Long appeared at ringside briefly during the opening minutes, seemingly to scout both men (Legends of Wrestling: Heetseekers, Legends of Wrestling Collection) NWA TV Champion Sting defeated the Iron Sheik (w/ Rip Morgan) via submission with the Scorpion Deathlock at 2:10 following a Stinger Splash in the corner Ric Flair pinned NWA World Champion Ricky Steamboat by reversing a bodyslam into an inside cradle to win the title at 31:31; Lou Thesz, Pat O'Conner, and Terry Funk served as judges for the bout, in the event it went to a time-limit draw; after the bout, Steamboat shook Flair's hand; moments later, Ross interviewed Flair in the ring, with Flair saying Steamboat was the greatest champion he had ever faced; Funk then came in the ring and endorsed Flair before issuing a polite challenge for a title shot; after Flair said Funk wasn't in the Top 10 and wasn't in line for a shot, Funk shook Flair's hand before throwing him to the floor and hitting a piledriver on Flair onto the judge's table at ringside; Funk then hit Flair with a chair as Flair lay motionless on the floor, grabbed a mic from Ross, called Flair "a horsetooth banana nose jerk," and left ringside (Triple H: The Game, The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection) The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated NWA Tag Team Champions Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda via disqualification at 5:03 when Kevin Sullivan, who was ejected early in the bout, returned ringside with Dan Spivey and double teamed guest referee Nikita Koloff immediately after the challengers hit the Doomsday Device on Williams; after the bout, the Road Warriors cleared the ring before Koloff raised their hands in victory (Koloff's surprise return after a 6-month absence) NWA US Tag Team Champions Rick Steiner & Eddie Gilbert (w/ Missy Hyatt) defeated Kevin Sullivan & Dan Spivey at 6:49 when Gilbert pinned Sullivan after Steiner, who appeared to suffer a serious arm injury early in the bout, hit a clothesline with his good arm to Sullivan behind the referee's back; after the bout, Spivey assaulted Steiner's bad arm and Gilbert cleared Sullivan from the ring after he cornered Missy; moments later, as the commentary team recapped the show, Ross announced Williams & Rotunda had been stripped of their titles due to their attacking Koloff, who was the official for the contest Wrestle War 90: Wild Thing - Greensboro, NC - Coliseum - February 25, 1990 (9,894; 7,500 paid) Pay-per-view bouts - featured Jim Ross & Terry Funk on commentary; included Gordon Solie conducting a backstage interview with Teddy Long regarding the injury to Dan Spivey, with Long saying he hired a stand-in for the night and had a big surprise for later in the show: Kevin Sullivan & Buzz Sawyer (sub. for the Great Muta) defeated Shane Douglas & Johnny Ace at 10:14 when Sawyer pinned Ace with the splash off the top Norman pinned Cactus Jack at 9:34 with a backdrop and then reversing a sunset flip into a sit-down splash Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson defeated Bobby Eaton & Stan Lane (w/ Jim Cornette) when Gibson pinned Lane at 23:28 after Morton tackled Eaton as Eaton & Lane attempted a flapjack on Gibson; Morton sustained a torn pec muscle during the match (The Rise and Fall of WCW) The Road Warriors (w/ Paul Ellering) defeated Mark Callous & the Masked Skyscraper (Mike Enos) (sub. for Dan Spivey) (w/ Teddy Long) in a streetfight at 5:01 when Hawk pinned the Masked Skyscraper with the Doomsday Device after Callous was thrown to the floor and opted not to make the save; prior to the bout, the Road Warriors rode ringside on the back of motorcycles; Doom appeared at the 2-minute mark, surrounding Long at ringside, and traded blows with the Road Warriors after the match until the Road Warriors knocked them out of the ring (Doom's debut with Long) NWA US Tag Team Champions Brian Pillman & Tom Zenk defeated Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin at around the 25-minute mark when Pillman pinned Garvin with a crossbody off the top as Garvin attempted the DDT on Zenk; after the bout, Hayes & Garvin attacked the champions NWA Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated NWA TV Champion Arn Anderson & Ole Anderson at 16:08 when Rick pinned Ole with an inside cradle after kicking Arn; prior to the bout, Rick wore a note reading "Sting's Revenge" on his varsity jacket; after the match, the challengers attacked Scott with Ole coming off the top driving his knee into Scott's shoulder as Arn held Scott in place; Arn sustained a pinched nerve in his neck during the match NWA World Champion Ric Flair (w/ Woman) defeated NWA US Champion Lex Luger via count-out at 38:07 when, as Luger had Flair in the Torture Rack, he let go of the hold as Arn & Ole Anderson prepared to attack Sting at ringside; Sting, his leg bandaged and on crutches, appeared late in the bout to offer support to Luger; moments prior to the finish, the Andersons went after Luger, as the referee was down, but he easily threw them to the floor; after the bout, the Andersons attacked Luger in the ring with Arn dropping him with the DDT until Rick & Scott Steiner made the save, scaring the Horsemen from ringside WrestleWar 91 - Phoenix, AZ - Veterans Memorial Coliseum - February 24, 1991 (6,800) Eddie Guerrero & Ultraman defeated Huichol & Rudy Boy at 7:40 when Guerrero pinned Huichol with a hurricanrana Pay-per-view bouts - featured Jim Ross & Dusty Rhodes on commentary; included Tony Schiavone speaking with Missy Hyatt on the interview podium in which Missy said she would be the first woman to get a lockerroom interview with a wrestler later in the broadcast; later in the show, Missy walked into the lockerroom and was quickly scared off by Stan Hansen, with a mouthful of chew; featured Ross speaking with a young fan from Philadelphia by the name of Julian who won a contest and received front row seats to the show: WCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions the Junkyard Dog, Tommy Rich, & Ricky Morton defeated Big Cat, Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker, Lt. James Earl Wright at 9:54 when Morton pinned Parker after Parker sustained JYD's powerslam Bobby Eaton pinned Brad Armstrong with a swinging neckbreaker and the Alabama Jam at 12:52; prior to the bout, the commentary team discussed Armstrong's brother (BG James), who was currently serving in Operation Desert Storm; during the match, Jason Hervey from "The Wonder Years" as well as the Great Muta were shown in attendance Itsuki Yamzaki & Mami Kitamura defeated Miki Handa & Miss A at 6:47 when Yamazaki pinned A with a roll up Dustin Rhodes pinned Buddy Landell with the bulldog at 6:34 Tracy Smothers & Steve Armstrong defeated Rip Morgan & Jack Victory at 12:05 when Smothers pinned Morgan Terrence Taylor (w/ Alexandra York) pinned Tom Zenk in a No DQ match at 10:59 with a roll up Stan Hansen fought Big Van Vader to a double disqualification at 6:21 after both men shoved referee Randy Anderson; after the bout, the two men brawled over Hanson's bullrope all the way backstage WCW US Champion Lex Luger pinned Dan Spivey at 12:56 when, as Spivey attempted to bodyslam the champion off the top, Luger rolled through with a cradle for the win; after the bout, Tony Schiavone hosted a segment on the interview podium during which WCW official Grizzy Smith and former US Champion Nikita Koloff presented Luger with the new title belt, valued at $20,000, with Koloff smashing Luger in the face with the belt; Koloff then cut a promo saying he was denied a shot at the world title because he had been retired 2 years and then said if WCW officials wanted proof he was a contender they should look at what he just did to Luger; Koloff then said he would take the belt Luger stole from him 4 years earlier Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin (w/ Big Daddy Dink) defeated WCW Tag Team Champions Doom (w/ Teddy Long) to win the titles at 6:57 when Garvin pinned Simmons after Reed accidentally hit his partner with a foreign object thrown in the ring by Long, with Dink then shoving Garvin onto Simmons for the win; prior to the bout, the challengers were escorted to the ring by Diamond Dallas Page who then introduced Dink as the Freebirds' "road boss" before leaving ringside; after the match, DDP and the Diamond Dolls returned ringside and celebrated with the new champions as Reed assaulted Simmons with the weapon and left the ring with Long WCW World Champion Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, & Larry Zbyzsko (sub. for WCW TV Champion Arn Anderson) (w/ Arn Anderson) defeated Sting, WCW US Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner, & Brian Pillman in Wargames at 22:11 when referee Nick Patrick stopped the bout after Pillman, who entered the match with an already injured shoulder, sustained two powerbombs from Vicious; moments prior to the match ending, El Gigante came ringside, ripped the cage door off, and checked on Pillman; prior to the bout, footage was shown from the previous night's episode of WCW Saturday Night in which the 4 Horsemen assaulted Pillman; after the match, El Gigante carried an unconscious Pillman backstage; moments later, Ross & Rhodes spoke with Patrick about why he stopped the match, with Patrick saying Pillman couldn't speak and he didn't want to be responsible for a wrestler's career ending prematurely ([ http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000GG4XWY/thhiofww-20 Brian Pillman: Loose Cannon]) WrestleWar 92 - Jacksonville, FL - Coliseum - May 17, 1992 (6,000) Diamond Dallas Page & Thomas Rich defeated Bob Cook & Firebreaker Chip at 8:05 when Page pinned Cook Pay-per-view bouts - hosted by Tony Schiavone & Eric Bischoff with Jim Ross & Jesse Ventura on commentary; featured Missy Hyatt conducting a backstage interview with WCW Tag Team Champions Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin, with Precious, regarding their title win, during which Hayes dedicated the win to Lynard Skynard and said they now had their sights on the WCW and NWA tag team titles: Michael Hayes & Jimmy Garvin defeated WCW US Tag Team Champions Terrance Taylor & Greg Valentine at 16:00 to win the titles when Garvin pinned Taylor with the DDT as Hayes hit Valentine with the left hand punch Johnny B. Badd pinned Tracey Smothers at 7:03 with the left hand punch after avoiding a kick to the face Scotty Flamingo pinned Marcus Alexander Bagwell at 7:11 with a roll over and grabbing the tights for leverage Ron Simmons pinned Mr. Hughes (w/ Cactus Jack) at 5:28 with a tackle to the knee after knocking an interfering Cactus to the floor; prior to the bout, footage was shown of Simmons & JYD altercation with Hughes & Cactus at SuperBrawl II; the bout was scheduled as Simmons & the Junkyard Dog vs. Hughes & Cactus Jack but Cactus attacked JYD before the match, knocked him off the ramp onto the floor, and hit the elbowsmash onto the concrete; moments later, officials and Simmons helped JYD to his feet and helped him backstage; Simmons then returned and cleared the ring before the one-on-one match took place Super Invader (w/ Harley Race) pinned Todd Champion at 5:27 with a powerbomb after dropping Champion throat-first across the top rope Big Josh pinned Richard Morton with a clothesline and the Northern Exposure at 7:29; prior to the bout, Jesse Ventura said he had some news on Beach Blast but would only say it had something to do with chest measreuments WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Pillman pinned Tom Zenk at 15:28 with a roll over after avoiding Zenk's missile dropkick; prior to the match, footage was shown from the previous night's altercation between Pillman and Zenk on WCW Saturday Night WCW Tag Team Champions Rick & Scott Steiner defeated Tatsumi Fujinami & Takayuki Iizuka at 18:15 when Rick pinned Iizuka with a belly to belly suplex off the top; due to pre-match stipulations, the Steiners became the #1 contenders to the IWGP Tag Team Championship WCW World Champion Sting, Dustin Rhodes, WCW TV Champion Barry Windham, Ricky Steamboat, & Nikita Koloff defeated WCW US Champion Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Bobby Eaton, Arn Anderson, & Larry Zbyzsko (w/ Paul E. Dangerously & Madusa) in Wargames at 23:24 when Eaton submitted to an armbar from Sting after Zbyzsko accidentally hit his partner with a steel bar from an unhinged turnbuckle; at the 14-minute mark, Madusa climbed on top of the cage and tossed Dangerously's phone inside the ring to be used by her team, only for Sting to climb up and scare her back down; after the match, Dangerously verbally berated Zbyzsko in the ring, with the Dangerous Alliance then blaming Zbyzsko for the loss (Sting's return from injury after a month's absence)